Paul.
No they are not stuck on and yes, dirt can get under them, though in my experience this is not a great problem. They are a reasonable tight fit and should be allowed to flap around.
The trims on the 1000S and some of the 4X4s are held on the same way, they slide onto plastic buttons set in the bodywork. It is important to remove them in the right order to avoid damage.
FIRST, carefully prize off the "Super" badge from the rear trim. This does have a self adhesive backing and due to plastic age hardening the locating pins tend to break. Under the bagde, you will find a securing stud. Use a small punch to knock out the centre pin, which will fall into the box section and be lost. Use a suitably sized self tapping screw when refitting to replace the lost pin.
Now punch out the centre pins of the three studs at the rear of the trim, through the wheel arch. These will drop to the floor and can be recovered. Now gently tap the trim rearwards to release it from its buttons and catch the trim before it clatters to the floor.
Now you will see two of the buttons mentioned. There are five of these on the door and two on the forward wing.
Remove the door trim with the door closed. The door trims slide off forwards and the forward end of the trim has to slide over the rear edge of the front wing trim before it will release, so have an assistant hook fingers under the end of the door trim to guide it over the front wing trim. Tap the door trim gently forward ( I use a piece of wood between trim and hammer ) and again, be ready to catch the trim as it releases.
Now gently tap the forward wing trim to the rear to release it from its two buttons.
Reverse this proceedure to refit the trims.
Rgds, Pete.
